This is just a short oneshot I thought up of. Really, this isn't even the correct season for me to posting this, but hey, I like it xD

Disclaimer: In no way do I own Beyblade. I do own incredibly great writing skills!! AHAHAHAHA!!! Okay...yeah...I'm done now...-coughs-

R&R please!

A Special Day

Some called him a genius; others called him a child prodigy. Which title sounded better, anyways? Oh well, it didn't even matter. Both resulted in roughly the same definition: intelligence. Now of course, he was naturally talented, but talent such as his was not brought out purely by aptitude alone. No, his gift required much more; skill, patience, endurance, intelligence, ambition, the list was endless. Oh yes, he worked until all hours of the night, until his eyelids insisted that they needed to be closed, until exhaustion overwhelmed his entire body.

To most others, his skills were taken for granted, and they never truly realized how their team would completely fall apart without him. He was the one behind the scenes to make them as strong as they were. He was the one providing them with all the equipment necessary.

He was the Chief.

His nickname suited him quite well, and held a very nice ring to it even. Over the years, Kenny was always exceptional at multi-tasking, and even though he was producing multiple spread sheets, data charts and files, his mind could still linger over the most peculiar thing that had happened that day.

A strange day, indeed.

Hard working, persistent, talented and gifted; those were the greatest aspects a Beyblader could achieve. Not to mention that this young man had a great personality and looks, which all the ladies enjoyed to the fullest. Never once had he ever skipped a day of their intensive training. Even when he was stuck in his bed, unable to stand without collapsing, he would mentally train himself with his bit beast by meditating. Never once would he back down from a challenge, and never once would he neglect his battles.

It was no surprise that Kenny had filed the day under 'Abnormally Bizarre', especially when Ray had come up to the Chief to ask for a few days to skip training and go back home. That was not like him one bit, and for a second Kenny had thought someone had kidnapped the real Raymond they all knew so well and an imposter had stood before him.

'That can't be it. Same voice, same golden eyes which are extremely rare to find in any other human, it's no doubt our Ray. There's no mistaking it!' Kenny had thought to himself. Using the Chief's logic, an equation could have been produced just to decipher if this really was Ray.

'Strange day…'

Even Kai thought it was strange. He was utterly baffled and astonished when Ray had asked him that particular question. If it had anything…absolutely anything to do with Beyblading then Kai would have answered him quite matter-of-factly and shrugged him off with another one of his cold shoulders and 'Kai-glares'. But no, it had nothing to do with the subject. Nothing.

"What type of flowers do you think are best suited for women?" Ray asked.

Kai had to look around to make sure Ray wasn't talking to anyone else. Sure enough…Kai was the only person in the vicinity. For once in his entire life he was actually speechless. Most times, he had his sarcastic remarks and questions himself…he just never voiced them aloud. Nevertheless, this time Kai was speechless. Only one word could process into his mind.

"What?"

"I asked you-"

"Yeah, I heard. And what? Why are you asking me?"

"Well for one thing, your family is quite well off so you have finer tastes than everyone else on the team. I figured that you would know." Ray explained, and it actually made a lot of sense in some strange way.

"Lilies."

"Huh? I thought you would've said something like roses." Ray joked, but that really was what he thought Kai would have said. Then again, if Ray actually knew him so well then why bother asking in the first place?

"Lilies." He repeated, although no infamous cold-shoulder or 'Kai-glare' was constructed. In fact, it was almost as if he was dreaming or in a daze.

'Strange day…'

Everyone knew it. It was plainly obvious, and the dates on their calendars screamed 'Societal Pressure!'. From those two words alone, anyone would be able to guess which single holiday of the year would cause so much pressure on every single individual. Yes, that holiday was Valentine's Day.

Tyson and Max really should have thought it was strange as well. Of course, the key words in that phrase are 'should have'. It was either plain ignorance or a great chance to tease their friend, but no one thought it was the latter.

'Yep. They're just ignorant.' Everyone had assumed. In their minds, the day those two grew brain cells was the day Kai cracked a genuine smile. Just plain impossible.

"We all know why you're going back. And this week of all times! That's just too much!" Tyson laughed, Max following suit before adding one of his own comments.

"I bet Ray and Mariah will run into each other's arms like those corny TV shows, and then it'll be followed by a romantic dinner and a moonlit walk." Max piped in.

"You watch too much TV." Hilary stated dully. "Besides, I think it's cute that Ray wants to see her on such a special day. Very romantic."

"CUTE?! ROMANTIC?!" Ray spat out as he smacked his forehead numerous times. "I am not going back to see Mariah!" He insisted, but with little persuasion over his team. Yeah, of course he cared about his team and would die for them, but at that moment he would rather kick every single person to the sun, or maybe even another galaxy would be nice…

"Look, guys, stop teasing the poor guy. I'm sure he has his own personal matters to attend to, and that's why he's going back." Kenny reasoned, trying to eliminate the amount of embarrassment the young Beyblader was receiving. "That, and to see Mariah." He whispered as an afterthought.

"You guys are just frustrating! I'm going!" Ray shouted, and left to his room to grab his duffle bag he had packed for going back home. It would be a long journey to get back to his home town, especially since it was so isolated. First, he would have to take an airplane to get to the big cities of China, then that would be followed by a bus ride to the outskirts of town, then of course, he could either walk for days on end or take an uncomfortable carriage ride with seats as soft as granite.

But it was all worth it to see her again.

Besides, he had done it before. It couldn't be that bad.

- - -

"THIS IS THE WORST JOURNEY BACK HOME I HAVE EVER MADE IN MY LIFE!" Ray screamed in anger. "HOW THE HECK WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT THERE WAS A LANDSLIDE TWO DAYS AGO?!"

Stranded by the cliff, Ray really had no idea what he could do. To his left was the cliff which looked like it would collapse any day, due to the after effects of the landslide Ray had assumed was two days prior to his arrival. To his right was a river which he had considered swimming through at first, but judging the strong waves that crashed through the rocks, as well as the landslide being at least a few kilometres long, he really was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Quite literally, too.

'The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?' He groaned.

"Hey! Do you need some help over there?" A voice asked. Ray looked around and spotted two people on a boat in the river. It was very well built, considering how easily it was standing in the middle of the river that humans couldn't swim in. The boat stopped just by the riverbank so Ray could get on. Finally, things were looking up.

"Thank you, the universe."

- - -

It was nice walking down the familiar streets of this town again. Of course, the rural acoustics of the town didn't make it the ideal place to live in, but that didn't matter to the people. They didn't have all the fancy homes of the big cities, nor the nice bedrooms or convenient hot water for bathing. They gave all that up for the genuine, quality time they spent with their friends and family. It was as though the entire village was an extended family for the young boy, and that was something he truly cherished in his heart.

Ray stopped himself in the middle of the street, causing some of the villagers to walk around him. He had remembered Kai's words from a few days ago, and walked into a flower shop before going to see her.

As he walked in, there was no bell signaling a new customer had arrived. There wasn't even a proper door! The shop was small, but very quaint with adequate light for the beautiful flowers that made the shop so enjoyable. He noticed someone tending to the flowers that were put on display; an old lady who had a smile on her face at all times. An old lady he recognized all too well.

"Raymond? Is that really you? It has been too long! How have you been?" She asked her new customer and the boy whom she thought of as her own.

"Hello Mrs. Quinn" Ray greeted as he bowed before his elder. "I have been good, thank you. How have you been doing yourself?"

"Oh, I have been doing well I suppose. It has been wonderful in this simple flower shop, and I enjoy the company of all these flowers. My late husband loved those tulips especially. So what can I help you with dear?" She asked kindly.

"I think…a bouquet of lilies would be nice." Ray answered.

"Ah yes, of course. You know, she always loved lilies very much. It is a very wise choice." The clever woman replied. She went into the back to gather the lilies for Ray as he glanced around the shop. It hadn't changed much at all, and in all actuality, the entire town hadn't changed a single bit since he had left so long ago.

"Here you are, dear." Mrs. Quinn said as she emerged from the back room. She held in her hands a beautiful bouquet of the finest lilies in town. "I hope she enjoys these as much as I do. Oh and, Ray dear, please don't stay there so long this time. It is bad for your health to be walking home in the cold of the night." She said, again looking out for Ray as she did everyone in the town.

"Thank you, and I'll try. Well, thank you again, but I must be going. Take care of yourself." Ray replied as he left the shop.

"If you start worrying about me, it really is the end of the world." She replied with a chuckle. Ray couldn't help but grin. It was all too true.

Ray traveled up the grassy hill to his destination. Every time this year, he would travel the same hill to see her…every year. He smiled at the fact that he would be able to see her again. It had already been so long. He stopped in his tracks when he arrived at the stone in front of him. He smiled weakly as he read the words engraved in it.

"Hi there, Ray." He heard a voice form behind him. He was startled to say the least, but he knew the voice from anywhere.

"What are you doing here, Mariah?" Ray asked, now a bit confused.

"Same reason you're here." She replied. She held that all-knowing smile of hers that was also childish at the same time due to her cat-like features.

"Thanks." Ray smiled weakly, and he turned around the face the stone again. He bent down and placed the flowers in front of the stone. "Happy birthday, mom." He said in a low whisper, but Mariah had heard his soft voice as well.

Mariah stood behind Ray, the two of them reminiscing back to the time when Ray's mother had taken such great care of the two. She then looked back towards Ray with another smile. He had grown so much over the years, and had become someone his mother would be so proud of.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ray." She said, trying to ease the silence in the air.

"Huh?" Ray quirked an eyebrow as he glanced back to his childhood friend curiously. "It's Valentine's Day?"

Author's Note:

Heheh, so how'd you guys like this one? I thought it was kinda cute xD Anyways, as I said earlier, this is definitely not the appropriate season to be posting a Valentine's Day fic, but oh well. I had written this about a week or so ago, and I really wanted to get some opinions on this.

So yeah, please review! I'd greatly appreciate it!